Gratiot Avenue is co-star of cruise show

It once was an Indian trail through the Michigan territory wilderness. Today the Gratiot Avenue strip is a bustling boulevard that carries more than 70,000 cars daily and home to more than 300 restaurants, car dealerships, stores and institutions.

Yet it’s really only in the past decade that the Gratiot corridor from 14 Mile to Wellington Cresent has really gotten its act together in terms of aesthetics -- thanks in large part to the property owners and the Downtown Development Authority.

“In the last 10 years, we have made tremendous improvements,” said Clinton Township Planning Director Carlo Santia. “These steps we’ve taken have made a world of difference.”

Property owners along Gratiot have used the DDA as a vehicle to finance a variety of noticeable improvements such as new lighting in the median, median landscaping, and decorative banners. Those efforts along with annual summer cleanup projects have enhanced the district’s image.

At the same time the enhancements were taking hold, the Gratiot Cruise has grown into something close to a local holiday.

As upwards of 100,000 gather for the Gratiot Cruise on Sunday, Aug. 4, most of the attention will be on the vintage vehicles parading up and down the avenue or parked at various car shows.

But make no mistake; Gratiot Avenue shares a co-starring role in the show.

Township records of Gratiot state that it was one of the first roadways to be lined with planks as a toll road in the 1800s.

Development slowly took place over the next century and a half and by the 1970s, the strip became known for its popular destination points include the A&W root beer shop, the Big Boy drive-in restaurant and Montgomery Ward store.

Those are all gone, but new places have taken shape.

The opening of the Target department store was a game changer, as was construction of the AMC Star Gratiot 21 movie theater that opened in 1990. One of the more recent notable private developments came in 2010 with the opening of a Hampton Inn.

Three of the state’s premier car dealerships – Dorian Ford, Moran Chevrolet and Jim Causley Pontiac-GMC Truck – are also key players that have invested millions of dollars in sprucing up their properties. They also each have contributed not only generous funding but also involvement in community projects from the dealers’ highest levels.

From the public sector, the South Branch of the Clinton-Macomb Public Library opened in 2000 in a 7,400-square-foot facility with a 45,000-item collection. Library officials recently announced plans to relocate in a 26,000-square-foot building formerly occupied by Slapsticks Billiards. It is scheduled to open in the spring of 2014.

The table was set for the investments by public improvements that were planned and paid for by the Downtown Development Authority (DDA), a quasi-public agency that diverts a portion of property tax revenue in the district to public improvements.

Township Supervisor Bob Cannon is pleased with the outcome and can’t wait to make more additions. One of his goals is to make the street more pedestrian friendly.

“I’d like to do something like the Rotary Park in downtown Mount Clemens, a gathering spot with some benches where people can enjoy being in a natural-type setting,” he said.

As part of the DDA’s ongoing redevelopment plan, some 166 energy-efficient LED lights were installed in medians to provide improve lighting. The system has greatly improved evening visibility for motorists.

Additional plans call for more lights to be installed on each side of the street for evening better illumination.

Just as a new world awaited those on the early pioneer trails, the future looks bright for Gratiot Avenue.